Turnkey reseller program for registering domain names

ABSTRACT

A reseller program may be used to increase the number of Customer desired domain names that are registered by a Registrar. There are two main embodiments of this reseller program. In the first embodiment, Resellers guide Customers to a Registrar web site through the use of advertisements, links in various web sites and/or links from search engines. The Registrar web site communicates directly with the Customer and registers the Customer desired domain names and compensates the Reseller for guiding the Customer to the Registrar web site. In the second embodiment, Resellers have their own reseller web sites that communicate directly with the Customers and communicate the desired domain names to the Registrar web site so the Registrar web site can register the Customer desired domain names. In this embodiment, the Customer may compensate the Reseller and the Reseller may compensate the Registrar for the services rendered.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of the followingpreviously-filed patent application, priority from which is herebyclaimed: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/616,005 to Maxson et. al.,with filing date Jul. 8, 2003 and titled “RESELLER PROGRAM FORREGISTERING DOMAIN NAMES THROUGH RESELLERS' WEB SITES.”

This patent application also is related to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/616,195 to Zimmerman et. al., with filing date Jul. 8, 2003(issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,644,117 on Jan. 5, 2010) and titled “TURNKEYRESELLER PROGRAM FOR REGISTERING DOMAIN NAMES.”

The subject matter of all referenced patent applications is commonlyowned and assigned to The Go Daddy Group, Inc. All prior applicationsare incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and processes for Customers toregister domain names with a Registrar, and more specifically, tosystems and processes for Resellers to guide Customers to a Registrar,either through a Reseller web site or through advertisement efforts bythe Reseller.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Internet is a worldwide network of computers and computer networksarranged to allow the easy and robust exchange of information betweenthe users of the computers. Hundreds of millions of people around theworld have access to computers connected to the Internet via one of thehundreds of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Content providers placemultimedia information, i.e. graphics and sounds, and other forms ofdata at specific locations on the Internet referred to as web sites thatare typically hosted by an ISP. Each web site may have one or more webpages. The combination of all the web sites and their corresponding webpages on the Internet is generally known as the world wide web (web orwww).

Web sites may be created using HyperText Markup Language (HTML) togenerate a standard set of tags that define how the web pages for theweb site will be displayed. Users of the Internet may access contentproviders' web sites using a software package known as a browser, suchas Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. After the browserhas located a desired webpage, it requests and receives information fromthe webpage, typically in the form of an HTML document, and thendisplays the webpage's content for the user. The user may thereafterview other web pages at the same web site or move to an entirelydifferent web site using the browser.

Browsers are able to locate specific web sites because each web site,resource and computer on the Internet has a unique Internet Protocol(IP) address. Each IP address is a 32 bit binary number, but istypically shown in dotted decimal notion, e.g. 192.145.68.112, toimprove human readability. However, IP addresses, even in dotted decimalnotation, are difficult to remember and use by people. Uniform ResourceLocators (hereafter “URL”) are much easier to remember and may be usedto point to any computer, directory or file on the Internet. A browseris able to access a web site on the Internet through the use of a URL.The URL may include a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requestcombined with the web site's internet address, also known as the website's domain name. An example of a URL with a HTTP request and domainname is: http://www.companyname.com

In this example, the “http” identifies the URL as a HTTP request and the“www.companyname.com” is the domain name.

Individuals, companies, and other entities that provide content on theweb generally want to use their name or one of their trademarks as partof their domain name. Thus, domain names are generally companytrademarks, personal names or short phrases concatenated with a toplevel domain name (TLD) extension (e.g. .com, .net, .org, .us, .biz,etc.). Domain names created in this fashion are much easier to rememberand use than their corresponding IP addresses. The Internet Corporationfor Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) approves all TLDs and delegates theresponsibility to a particular organization (hereinafter Registry) formaintaining an authoritative source for the registered domain nameswithin a TLD and their corresponding IP addresses. There is oneorganization, or Registry, for each of the ICANN approved TLDs. Forcertain TLDs, e.g. .biz, .info, .us, the Registry is also theauthoritative source for contact information related to the domain name.For other TLDs, e.g. .com, .ws, .org, .net, a Registrar is theauthoritative source for the contact information related to the domainname. All domain names are organized through a central domain nameShared Registration System (SRS) based on their TLD.

A process for registering a desired domain name is illustrated inFIG. 1. The communications shown here and in other figures of thedrawings are typically communications via the internet, but could bedirect LAN or WAN connections, telephone lines, cell phone links, RF orfiber optics connections among others. Customer 100, Registry 102 a, andRegistrar 101 a are typically entities having access to computerinstallations equipped for internet communications.

The process for registering a domain name with a particular Registry 102a allows a Customer 100 to use an ICANN-accredited Registrar 101 a. Forexample if John Doe wishes to register the domain name “JohnDoe.com”,John Doe may initially verify whether the desired domain name is or isnot available by contacting a Registrar 101 a. The Customer 100 may makethis contact using the Registrar web site 101 b and typing the desireddomain name into a field in the Registrar web site 101 b created forthis purpose. Upon receiving the request from the Customer 100, theRegistrar 101 a may ascertain whether “JohnDoe.com” has already beenregistered by checking the SRS database of the Registry 102 a associatedwith the TLD of the domain name. The results of the search may then bedisplayed on the web site to thereby notify the Customer 100 of theavailability of the domain name. If the domain name is available, theCustomer 100 may proceed with the registration process. Otherwise, theCustomer 100 may have to keep selecting alternative domain names untilan available domain name is found.

After the Customer 100 submits the registration request, the Registrarweb site 101 b transmits certain information to the Registry web site102 b regarding both the Registrar 101 a and the Customer 100 who will,upon completion of the registration process, be identified as the“registrant” of the domain that is to be officially registered with theRegistry 102 a. The Registry 102 a adds the domain name, theregistrant's name and identification of the Registrar 101 a to the SRSdatabase kept by the Registry web site 102 b which then becomes publiclyavailable in the Registry's WHOIS database.

A Registrar 101 a is paid by their Customers 100 for registering theCustomers' 100 desired domain names. The revenue of Registrars 101 a isthus based in large measure on their traffic of Customers 100 and thenumber of domain names they are able to register for the Customers 100.However, competition in the domain name registration market has createdobstacles to increasing the number of yearly registered domain names bya Registrar 101 a. Registrars 101 a are thus searching for new ways toincrease the number of domain names they are able to register each year.One method for increasing the number of Customers 100 is for theRegistrar 101 a to advertise on third party web sites. However,applicants have noticed that the owners of other web sites are oftenreluctant to advertise for a Registrar 101 a because they do not wanttheir Customers 100 to leave their web sites and to go to the Registrarweb site 101 b to register domain names.

There is thus a need to increase revenue for Registrars 101 a using newsystems and processes that overcome the limitations of current revenuegenerating techniques. Specifically, there is a need for increasing thenumber of Customers 100 that register domain names or purchase otherproducts and services through a Registrar 101 a. There is also a needfor a method for Customers 100 to purchase products and services with aRegistrar 101 a starting from a third party web site that encouragesCustomers 100 to continue shopping at the third party web site aftercompleting the purchases from the registrar web site 101 b.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses these needs by providing improvedsystems and processes for registering domain names with an accreditedRegistry via an accredited Registrar. There are two main embodiments ofthe invention that incorporate Resellers into the process of allowingCustomers to register domain names. The Resellers increase the number ofdomain names registered by Registrar by increasing the number ofCustomers that use the Registrar's services.

The first embodiment, which may be referred to as a turnkey resellerprogram, includes Resellers that are registered into a reseller program.The Resellers do not necessarily have to have their own web site toparticipate in the turnkey reseller program. The Resellers willtypically advertise, often with the use of a link to the registrar website, either on their own web site or on other web sites. The Resellersmay also use other techniques, such as search engines or traditionaladvertising media, of directing Customers that want to register domainnames or purchase other products and services, to a registrar web site.The registrar web site is preferably designed to accept the informationand payment from a Customer necessary for the products or services.Typically, the services will be registering one or more domain names forthe Customer with a Registry. The registrar web site may detect theReseller that directed the Customer to the registrar web site andcompensate the Reseller based on the purchases made by the Customer. Theregistrar web site may have a custom layout created by each Resellerthat their Customers will see on the web page. The custom layout mayinclude advertisement banners, pricing information or other informationspecifically selected by the Reseller. The Reseller may join and supplythe necessary information for the turnkey registration program at aturnkey administration web site.

The second embodiment also includes Resellers that are registered into areseller program. This reseller program may be referred to as anApplication Program Interface (API) reseller program. While thisembodiment is named after a particular Internet communication protocol,i.e. API, other methods and protocols of exchanging information may alsobe used. In this embodiment, the Resellers have their own web sitesvisited by their own Customers. The Resellers may wish to sell domainname registration services to their Customers (or other products orservices offered by the Registrar), but may not want to becomeRegistrars and may not want to direct their Customers to another website, i.e., away from their web site. To accomplish this, the Resellersmay accept the necessary information, desired domain name and paymentfrom the Customers and communicate the information themselves to aregistrar web site. The transfer of information may be doneautomatically using automated background software processes using knowninternet communication techniques. In a preferred embodiment, thereseller web site and registrar web site communicate via an applicationprogram interface (API) or via an extensible provisioning protocol(EPP). The Registrar web site may register the desired domain names witha Registry for the Resellers' Customers and receive payment from theReseller for the services provided by the Registrar. If the registrationprocess was unsuccessful, possibly because the domain name was alreadyregistered, the status information on the registration process may becommunicated to the Reseller who may then inform the Customer. Anothermethod that may be used is for the Reseller to provide links to aregistrar web site. The Customer may purchase various products andservices from the registrar web site. After completing the purchases,other links may be provided to the Customer to return the Customer tothe reseller web site. The links may be done in such a way so that thereseller web site and registrar web site appear as a single virtual website to the Customer. In fact, the Reseller and Registrar may agree onany number of different methods of exchanging information with eachother combined with providing links to the Customer to transfer theCustomer between the web sites. In a preferred embodiment, the exchangeof information and links between the web sites act in such a way that itappears to the Customer that they have always remained in the resellerweb site.

Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art system for a Customer toregister a domain name with a Registry via a Registrar;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first reseller program according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process using the reseller programillustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a second reseller program according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process using the reseller programillustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an example of a screen shot to a Welcome web page according toa first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an example of a screen shot to a Contact Information web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is an example of a screen shot to a Credit Card Information webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is an example of a screen shot to a Payment Information web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is an example of a screen shot to a Tax Information web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is an example of a screen shot to an Account Information webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is an example of a screen shot to an Autoresponder Email webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is an example of a screen shot to an Event Notification web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is an example of a screen shot to a Banner Image web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 is an example of a screen shot to a Banner Text Link web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 a is an example of a first screen shot to a Home Page Image webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 b is an example of a second screen shot to a Home Page Image webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 is an example of a screen shot to a Footer Image web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 is an example of a screen shot to a Default Hosting Option webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 is an example of a screen shot to a Company Info web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 is an example of a screen shot to a Receipt Info web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 a is an example of a first screen shot to a Product Offering webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 b is an example of a second screen shot to a Product Offeringweb page according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 c is an example of a third screen shot to a Product Offering webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 a is an example of a first screen shot to a Product Pricing webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 b is an example of a second screen shot to a Product Pricing webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 c is an example of a third screen shot to a Product Pricing webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 d is an example of a fourth screen shot to a Product Pricing webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 c is an example of a fifth screen shot to a Product Pricing webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 23 is an example of a screen shot to a Promotions and New Productsweb page according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 24 is an example of a screen shot to a Support Options web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25 is an example of a screen shot to a Reseller Reports web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26 is an example of a screen shot to a Commission Report web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 27 is an example of a screen shot to a Domain Registrations webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 28 is an example of a screen shot to a Domain Lookup web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 29 is an example of a screen shot to a Discounted Rate Sheet webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 30 is an example of a screen shot to a Discount Customer List webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 31 is an example of a screen shot to a Customer Search web pageaccording to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 32 is an example of a screen shot to a Pending Transfer Report webpage according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 33 a is an example of a first screen shot to a home web page of aRegistrar web site; and

FIG. 33 b is an example of a second screen shot to a home web page of aRegistrar web site.

FIG. 34 is an example of a screen shot to a Welcome web page accordingto a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 35 is an example of a screen shot to Contact Information web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 36 a is an example of a first screen shot to an Account Access webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 36 b is an example of a second screen shot to an Account Access webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 37 is an example of a screen shot to an Autoresponder Email webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 38 is an example of a screen shot to an Event Notification web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 39 is an example of a screen shot to an IP Addresses web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 40 a is an example of a Certification Status web page according toa second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 40 b is an example of an API Downloads page to assist Resellers incommunicating with the Registrar;

FIG. 41 a is an example of a first screen shot to a Links to YourStorefront web page according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 41 b is an example of a second screen shot to a Links to YourStorefront web page according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 42 is an example of a screen shot to a Wire Transfer Form web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 43 is an example of a screen shot to a Low Balance Settings webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 44 is an example of a screen shot to a Banner Image web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 45 is an example of a screen shot to a Banner Text Link web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 46 is an example of a screen shot to a Footer Image web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47 is an example of a screen shot to a Company Info web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 48 a is an example of a first screen shot for a Name Server webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 48 b is an example of a second screen shot for a Name Server webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 49 a is an example of a first screen shot to a Product Pricing webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 49 b is an example of a second screen shot to a Product Pricing webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 49 c is an example of a third screen shot to a Product Pricing webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 50 is an example of a screen shot to a Support Options web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 51 is an example of a screen shot to a Reseller Reports web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 52 is an example of a screen shot to a Unit Sales Report web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 53 is an example of a screen shot to a Domain Registrations webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 54 is an example of a screen shot to a Domain Lookup web pageaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 55 is an example of a screen shot to a Account Activity Report webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 56 is an example of a screen shot to a Search For Customers webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 57 is an example of a screen shot to a Pending Transfer Report webpage according to a second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be discussed in detail with regard to theattached drawing figures which were briefly described above. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are set forthillustrating Applicants' best mode for practicing the invention and forenabling one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention.It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be practiced without many of these specific details. Inother instances, well-known machines and process steps have not beendescribed in particular detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringthe present invention. Unless otherwise indicated, like parts andprocesses are referred to with like reference numerals.

The reseller programs utilize Resellers to assist in increasing thenumber of Customers for the Registrar in exchange for compensation tothe Resellers. The present invention has two primary embodiments of areseller program. Both embodiments increase the revenue of a Registrarby increasing the number of Customers that register domain names orpurchase other services with the Registrar.

The first embodiment, which may be referred to as a “turnkey resellerprogram”, allows Resellers to utilize a web site, i.e. the registrar website, hosted and run by a Registrar. This removes the burden from theReseller of having to operate and maintain a web site. A Reseller maycustomize the Registrar web site and then, using various advertisingmethods, direct Customers to the Registrar web site. It should be notedthat while the Registrar web site may be customized by each Reseller soas to appear as a web site specific to the Reseller, a single Registrarweb site may advantageously be used by all the Resellers.

The second embodiment, which may be referred to as an “API resellerprogram”, allows Resellers to host and run their own web site whilestill offering and selling the products and services of the Registrar.This allows Resellers to sell from their reseller web sites both theirproducts and services and the Registrar's products and services. Thereseller web sites may communicate and coordinate with the registrar website using known Internet communication protocols and by using linksbetween the reseller and registrar web site thereby creating a virtualweb site. In a preferred embodiment, the communications and linksbetween the reseller web site and the registrar web site are transparentto the Customers. Both embodiments will be discussed in greater detailbelow.

Turnkey Reseller Program

A first embodiment of a reseller program of the present invention willbe described with reference to the block diagram in FIG. 2 and theflowchart in FIG. 3. The illustrated turnkey reseller program isdesigned to increase the number of Customers 100 that register domainnames with a Registrar 101 a, thereby increasing the revenue of theRegistrar 101 a. The turnkey reseller program accepts turnkey Resellers200 who may be individuals or corporations, into the turnkey resellerprogram. (Step 300) The Registrar 101 a may advertise on third party websites, computer magazines or traditional advertising media to attractturnkey Resellers 200 to its turnkey reseller program.

A turnkey registrar web site 203 may be created for allowing Customers100 to purchase products and services, such as registering one or moredomain names. (Step 301) The Registrar web site 203 may advantageouslybe created for access over the Internet by a traditional internetbrowser so that information may be easily read from and entered into theRegistrar web site 203. This allows the Registrar web site 203 to acceptdesired domain names from the Customer 100, display the availability ofthe desired domain names, gather contact information from the Customer100, register available domain names with an appropriate Registry website 102 b and accept payments from the Customers 100. An exemplaryTurnkey Registrar web site 203 according to this embodiment may be foundon the Internet at www.domainspricedright.com. FIG. 33 illustratesanother example of a Turnkey Registrar web site 203.

The benefit of the turnkey reseller program to the Registrar 101 a isthat the Resellers 200 in the program actively guide and directCustomers 100 to the Registrar web site 203 increasing traffic andthereby increasing the Registrar's revenue. (Step 302) The methodsemployed by the Resellers 200 to guide Customers 100 to the Registrarweb site 203 are limited only by the imagination and creativity of theResellers 200. Typical methods used by Resellers 200 are to placeadvertisements or links in third party web sites, to place the Registrarweb site 203 in one or more Internet search engines or by word of mouth.

Customers 100 directed to the Registrar web site 203 through the actionsof a Reseller 200 may purchase products and services, such asregistering available domain names, and pay fees at the Registrar website 203. (Step 303) The Reseller 200 that guided the Customer 100 tothe Registrar web site 203 may be determined (step 304) so that theReseller 200 may be compensated (step 305) based on either the number ofCustomers 100 guided to the Registrar web site 203 or on the productsand services purchases by the Customers 100. The Reseller 200 creditedwith guiding a particular Customer 100 to the Registrar web site 203 maybe determined, for example, by the URL used by the Customer 100 inaccessing the Registrar web site 203. Each Reseller 200 may use adifferent URL in this system to guide the Customers 100 to the Registrarweb site 203. Custom features may be added to the Registrar web site 203based on the particular account information of the Reseller 200 or basedon the particular URL used by the Customer 100. This allows everyReseller 200 in the reseller program to make the Registrar web site 203look like a custom web site of the Reseller 200.

The Resellers 200 are preferably directed to an administration web site202 to be registered into the reseller program. An example of a suitableadministration web site may be found at www.resellerextranet.com. Asample home page, or welcome page, for the administration web site 202is shown in FIG. 6. The welcome page is preferably designed to allowResellers 200 to easily join the turnkey reseller program and tocustomize the Turnkey Registrar web site 203. The welcome pagepreferably has links to all the other web pages in the Registrar website 203. This allows Resellers 200 to quickly and easily navigatethroughout the administration web site 202.

As part of joining the reseller program, Resellers 200 will typicallyneed to provide contact information to the Registrar 101 a. FIG. 7 showsa sample contact information web page which may be created for thispurpose. The Resellers 200 may be asked to provide one or more of thefollowing: a display name (dba name), company name, first name, middlename or initial, last name, e-mail address, email format (HTML or text),mailing address, phone number, fax number and a support email address.The contact information allows the Registrar 101 a to contact Resellers200 regarding any problems that may arise during the Resellers 200participation in the turnkey reseller program.

Resellers 200 may be asked to periodically pay a fee for membership inthe reseller program. These fees may be paid by a credit card ifdesired. FIG. 8 illustrates an example web page for facilitating thepayment of these fees by the Resellers 200 to the Registrar 101 a with acredit card. Payment by credit card allows the Registrar 101 a tomaintain the credit card information in a secure database andautomatically deduct fees authorized by Resellers 200 in a highlyefficient manner.

Resellers 200 will typically want to inform the Registrar 101 a of thelocation to send or transmit the Resellers' commission payments.Resellers 200 may request commission checks to be mailed to a particularaddress or the Resellers 200 may request electronic payment into anaccount. FIG. 9 shows a sample web page that is configured to acceptpayment information from Resellers 200 allowing the Resellers to directwhere their compensation is to be sent or transmitted.

Resellers 200 may desire to disclose to the Registrar 101 a theirtaxpayer identification number, or other tax payer information, to avoidthe Registrar 101 a from having to withhold taxes from the Resellers'commissions as would be required by US tax laws. The tax information mayeither be, for example, provided directly into the administration website or the information may be faxed to the Registrar 101 a, preferableon a form provided by the administration web site 202. FIG. 10 shows asample web page for collecting tax information.

Resellers 200 may desire to change their reseller login name andpassword used to enter the administration web site 202. FIG. 11 shows aweb page in the administration web site 202 suitable for allowingResellers 200 to update this information. This allows Resellers 200 thatwish to change their login name or that need to replace a compromisedpassword to do so. In a preferred embodiment, the previous passwordneeds to be entered before changing either the login name or thepassword.

When a domain name or other service is purchased from the registrar website 203, an autoresponder email may be used to notify the Customer 100of the status of their purchase. The email may have a “From” addressindicating, for example, that the email came from either the Reseller200 or the Registrar 101 a. This allows Resellers 200 who desire toprovide customer support services to use their email address and alsoallows Resellers 200 to use the Registrar's email address if theRegistrar 101 a is to provide customer support services. A suitable webpage for entering the desired autoresponder email address is shown inFIG. 12.

Resellers 200 may desire to know as soon as possible when particular“events” have occurred on the registrar web site 203. Typically, anevent will correspond to a change in the commission the Reseller 200 hasearned. For example, an event may be related to a purchase orcancellation of a product or service. Each Resellers 200 is preferablyable to select events that, upon their occurrence, cause a notificationto be sent to the Reseller 200. The notification may be sent via anemail to an address selected by the Reseller 200. A web page similar tothe web page shown in FIG. 13 may be used to select events andcorresponding email addresses for notification of a Reseller 200.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, one Registrar web site 203may be used to handle a plurality of different Resellers 200 and theirassociated plurality of Customers 100. However, each Reseller 200 willtypically want the registrar web site 203 to appear to the Customers 100as if the registrar web site 203 belonged exclusively to that Reseller200. To accomplish this, the registrar web site 203 may be created todetermine the Reseller 200 associated with each Customer 100 that entersthe registrar web site 203 and display for the Customer 100 customfeatures selected by their Reseller 200. The registrar web site 203 maydetermine the Reseller 200 associated with a particular Customer 100 inany number of different ways. For example, a different URL may beassigned to each Reseller 200, but all the URLs lead to the sameregistrar web site 203. The registrar web site 203 may then examine theURL and determine the Reseller 200 for that Customer 100 and theninteract with the Customer 100 in a manner selected by the Reseller 200.

Unique graphics and text may be selected by Resellers 200 to create theappearance of a registrar web site 203 belonging exclusively to aparticular Reseller 200. For example, a custom banner, home page imageand footer image may be selected by each Reseller 200. Unique graphicson a web page will typically enhance the visual appearance of the webpage, thereby improving the shopping experience of each Customer 100 andleading the Customers 100 into making more purchases at the registrarweb site 203. Resellers 200 may select from default images provided bythe administration web site 202, but the Resellers 200 preferablyprovide their own distinctive graphics. The graphics may have differentcolors for fonts and background and text for each Reseller 200. A webpages, as shown in FIG. 14, FIGS. 16 a and 16 b, and FIG. 17 may be usedby each Reseller 200 to easily select the desired features for theirbanner, home page image or footer image respectively.

In a preferred embodiment, a text link may be placed within the banner.A Customer 100 that selects the text link may be linked to another website or may be given an opportunity to email a message to the Reseller200 that set up the banner. FIG. 15 shows an example of a web page inthe administration web site 202 that may be used to create the text linkand the text link's associated URL or email address.

Any number and type of products and services may be sold by Resellers200 using the registrar web site 203. Preferably, services related todomain name registration are sold. Resellers 200 may wish to providetheir Customers 100 with options regarding the hosting for registereddomain name. For example, Customers 100 may be given the option to havethe Registrar 101 a, Reseller 200 or an ISP host the registered domainname. FIG. 18 shows a web page in the administration web site 202 thatmay be used to allow a Reseller 200 to select how these options will bedisplayed for Customers 100 on the registrar web site 203.

Resellers 200 may want to allow Customers 100 to view their company andcontact information and to give their Customers 100 a personal messageor greeting. This information may be entered into a web page in theadministration web site 202 specifically created for this purpose, suchas the example web page shown in FIG. 19. The company and contactinformation and personal message or greeting may then be displayed onone of the web pages in the registrar web site 203 for Customers 100 toview. The personal message and greeting allow Resellers 200 to performmarketing activities, such as offer promotions, and further enhance theappearance of the registrar web site 203 belonging exclusively to one ofthe Resellers 200.

Resellers 200 may wish to send a post sale message to a Customer 100after the Customer purchased a product or service from the registrar website 203. The message may be used to acknowledge the sale and inform theCustomer 100 of any post sale issues. An example web page for acceptingthe post sale message and acknowledgement is shown in FIG. 20. The postsale message may be immediately displayed for the Customer 100 on theregistrar web site 203 or the message may be emailed to the Customer100.

Resellers 200 may desire to select the top level domains they wish tooffer their Customers 100 for registration. Typically top level domainsthat Resellers 200 may wish to offer their Customers 100 include, butare not limited to, .COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO, .BIZ, .US, .WS. A Resellermight not want to offer all the TLD's because the TLDs may not relate totheir offering. For example, an Australian Reseller may have no interestin offering a .US domain name. In a preferred embodiment, registration,transfer, bulk registration and bulk transfer capabilities may beindividually selected for each top level domain. Resellers 200 may alsodesire to offer any number of other products and services. As examples,Resellers 200 may desire to offer domain name change of ownership,domain name forwarding, domain name masking for forwarding, domain namehosting and email services, custom park pages for domain names, privateor proxy registration, wire transfer payments and account balances,notice when desired domain names become available, copyrightregistration services or website creation software.

Proxy registration services allow a proxy's name and contactinformation, e.g. the name and contact information for the Registrar 101a or Reseller, to be stored in the public databases, while all the legalrights of ownership are contractually assigned to the Customer 100. Theproxy registration service greatly enhances the reseller program sincethe Reseller or Registrar 101 a may accept or assign to a third partythe proxy position thereby allowing the Resellers 200 to sell thishighly desired service.

If hosting services are to be offered by a Reseller 200, a method forCustomers 100 to select domain name servers may be provided. Resellers200 may desire to provide their Customers 100 with a parking name serveror the Resellers 200 may allow the Registrar 101 a to provide parkingname servers for the Customers 100. FIGS. 21 a, 21 b and 21 c show anexample web page at an administration web site 202 that may be used toallow Resellers 200 to select the top level domains, product andservices, hosting name servers and parking name servers that they wishto offer to their Customers 100 at the registrar web site 203.

Resellers 200 may desire to set their own prices for the variousproducts and services that they have selected to offer their Customers100. Example web pages on an administration web site 202 are illustratedin FIGS. 22 a, 22 b, 22 c, 22 d and 22 e and show one possible methodfor allowing Resellers 200 to set custom prices for their Customers 100.Allowing Resellers 200 to individually set their own prices greatlyenhances each Reseller's 200 ability to create a unique marketingstrategy and specifically target a portion of the market based on thelevel of service the Reseller 200 wishes to provide.

The Registrar 101 a may desire to offer promotional products andservices that they wish to sell through their Resellers 200 and theResellers 200 may desire to offer the promotional products to theirCustomers 100. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a web page,for example a web page similar to the one shown in FIG. 23, may beprovided to allow Resellers to select the promotional products andservices they would like to offer their Customers 100.

Resellers 200 may desire to select custom support options for theirCustomers 100 regarding the products and services that they have chosento sell. Resellers 200 may desire to handle the support requeststhemselves or they may desire that the Registrar 101 a handles thesupport requests. If the Resellers 200 desire to handle the supportrequests, they will need to provide contact information for theirsupport service. In a preferred embodiment, each Reseller 200 may selectwho will be handling the support requests from their Customers 100 foreach product and service the Reseller 200 has chosen to sell. A webpage, similar to the one shown in FIG. 24, may be used on theadministration web site 202 to allow the Resellers 200 to customizetheir method of handling support issues.

Resellers 200 may desire to see reports regarding the success of theirreseller business. The administration web site 202 may include a webpage, for example one similar to the web page shown in FIG. 25, forallowing the Resellers 200 to link to and view one or more reports. Asexamples of possible reseller reports, a commission report, domain nameregistration report, domain lookup, discounted rate sheet, discountcustomer list, customer search and pending transfer report may all bemade available to the Resellers 200. Corresponding sample web pages foreach of these reports are shown in FIGS. 26 through 32.

API Reseller Program

A second embodiment of the reseller program of the present inventionwill be described with reference to the block diagram in FIG. 4 and theflowchart in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, each API Reseller 400 a hastheir own Reseller web site 400 b where they may conduct their ownbusiness and sell their own products and services. The advantage of thisembodiment for the Resellers 400 a is that Customers 100 are less likelyto leave the reseller web site 400 b in order to purchase products andservice from the API registrar web site 403. Thus, Resellers 400 a mayparticipate in this embodiment of the reseller program without havingthe disadvantage of directing Customers 100 away from their products andservices on their web sites 400 b.

This embodiment requires Resellers 400 a to be accepted into a resellerprogram and for the Registrar 101 a to create an API registrar web site402. (Steps 500 and 501) The registrar web site 403 may be a fullfeatured web site accessible by Customers 100 with an Internet browseras in the first embodiment although this feature is not necessary forthis embodiment to operate. The registrar web site 403 does, however,need to be accessible by the reseller web sites 400 b to permit theexchange of information between the web sites. (Step 502) The exchangeof information between the web sites is preferably automated by computersystems created for this purpose. The communication protocol between thereseller web site 400 b and the registrar web site 403 may be accordingto any known internet protocol such as the Application Program Interface(API) protocol or the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP). Customersmay be directed between the reseller web site 400 b and the registrarAPI web site 403 using known Internet links or URLs to create a virtualweb site.

The Resellers 400 a are preferably directed to an administration website 402 to be registered into the API reseller program. An example of asuitable administration web site 402 may be found atwww.dev.resellerextranet.com. They may receive a username and passwordat a reseller web site 400 b, such as the one atwww.wildwestdomains.com, to allow them access to the administration website 402. A sample home page, or welcome page, for the administrationweb site 402 is shown in FIG. 34. The welcome page is preferablydesigned to allow Resellers 400 a to easily join the reseller programand to customize the interaction between the reseller web site 400 b andthe registrar web site 403. The welcome page preferably has links to allthe other web pages in the administration web site 402. This allowsResellers 400 a to quickly and easily navigate throughout theadministration web site 402.

As part of joining the reseller program, Resellers 400 a will typicallyneed to provide contact information to the Registrar web site 403. FIG.35 shows a sample contact information web page which may be used forthis purpose. The Resellers 400 a may be asked to provide one or more ofthe following pieces of information: a display name (dba name), companyname, first name, middle name or initial, last name, e-mail address,email format (HTML or text), mailing address, phone number, fax numberand a support email address. The contact information allows theRegistrar 101 a to contact the Resellers 400 a regarding any problemsthat may arise during the Resellers 400 a participation in the resellerprogram.

Resellers 400 a may desire to change their reseller login name andpassword used to enter the administration web site 402. FIGS. 36 a and36 b show a web page in the administration web site 402 suitable forallowing Resellers 400 a to update this information. This allowsResellers 400 a that wish to change their login name or that need toreplace a compromised password to do so. In a preferred embodiment, theprevious password needs to be entered before changing either the loginname or the password.

When a product or service is purchased by a Customer 100, anautoresponder email may be used to notify the Customer 100 of the statusof their purchase. The email may have a “From” address indicating, forexample, that the email came from either the Reseller 400 a or theRegistrar 101 a. This allows Resellers 400 a who desire to providecustomer support services to use their email address and also allowsResellers 400 a to use the Registrar's email address if the Registrar101 a is to provide customer support services. A web page for enteringthe desired autoresponder email is shown in FIG. 37.

Resellers 400 a may desire to know as soon as possible when particular“events” have occurred on the registrar web site 403. For example, anevent may be related to an order for a product or service or for acancellation of a product or service by a Customer 100 on the registrarweb site 403. Resellers 400 a are preferably able to select events that,upon their occurrence, cause a notification to be sent to the affectedReseller 400 a. The notification may be sent via an email to an addressselected by the Reseller 400 a. A web page similar to the web page shownin FIG. 38 may be used to select events and corresponding emailaddresses for notification of the Resellers 400 a on the occurrence ofthe selected events.

The exchanges of information between the reseller web sites 400 b andthe API registrar web site 403 may include information regarding bankaccount numbers, credit card numbers as well as other personalinformation. It is thus desirable to protect the confidentiality andintegrity of the exchanged information using available security measureson the Internet. One security measure that may be used involves theregistrar web site 403 authenticating the digital certificates of thereseller web sites 400 b to verify the identities of the reseller websites 400 b. As part of this process, the reseller web site 400 b needsto disclose to the administration web site 402 its IP addresses. The IPaddresses may be transmitted to the administration web site 402 via aweb page in the administration web site 402 similar to the web pageshown in FIG. 39.

As part of the process for registering a new Reseller 400 a, it may bedesirable to assist the Reseller 400 a in communicating with the APIRegistrar web site 403. For example, a web page may be created in theAPI administration web site 402, similar to the example web page in FIG.40 b, to assist the Reseller 400 a in obtaining the necessary softwareand instructions to communicate with the API registrar 403 web site. Itmay also be desirable to allow the Reseller 400 a to download examplesoftware and provide whatever additional assistance the Reseller 400 amay need. It may also be desirable to verify that the reseller web site400 b is able to communicate with the registrar web site 403. FIG. 40 ashows an example web page for testing the capabilities of the resellerweb site 400 b. Allowing the Reseller 400 a to thoroughly test theirreseller web site 400 b greatly assists the Reseller 400 a in setting upand trouble-shooting any technical problems they may have with theirreseller web site 400 b.

As part of the cooperation between the Resellers 400 a and the Registrar101 a, links may be provided for the Customers 100 in the reseller website 400 b to link to the API registrar web site 403 and vice versa.Resellers may link the Customers 100 to the registrar web site 403 topermit the Customers to purchase and manage their purchased products andservices from the Registrar 101 a. Registrars 101 a may link theCustomers 100 back to the reseller web site 400 b so that the Resellers400 a do not lose control of their Customers 100. This arrangementcreates a virtual web site that makes shopping for both the products andservices from the Reseller 400 a and the Registrar 101 a easier for theCustomers 100. Resellers 400 a and Registrar 101 a will need to sharelink information to properly guide the Customers 100 between the websites. A web page in the administration web site 402 illustrated inFIGS. 41 a and 41 b show a possible method for the Reseller 400 a toshare this information with the Registrar 101 a. The informationpreferably includes link addresses and the condition, e.g. upon aparticular type of sale, upon which the link should occur.

For this embodiment of the invention, Customers 100 will typically paytheir Reseller 400 a and the Reseller 400 a will typically pay theRegistrar 101 a for the products and services purchased by the Customers100. Resellers 400 a may pay the Registrar 101 a during or after theproducts or services are purchased by the Customer 100, but theResellers 400 a preferably, from the point of view of the Registrar 101a, have a prepaid account with the Registrar 101 a. FIG. 43 shows a webpage that may be used to manage prepaid accounts that would transmit anemail to one or more email addresses in the event that the prepaidaccount drops below a selected level. FIG. 42 shows a web page that maybe used to facilitate wire transfers from a Reseller 400 a to theRegistrar 101 a.

In order to maintain the appearance of a single web site, i.e. thevirtual web site, by the Reseller 400 a, graphics and text may beselected by the Reseller 400 a to be applied to the registrar web site403. For example, a custom banner, home page image and footer image maybe selected by each Reseller 400 a. Unique graphics on a web page willtypically enhance the visual appearance of the web page, therebyimproving the shopping experience of each Customer 100 and leading theCustomers 100 into making more purchases at the registrar web site 403.Resellers 400 a may select from default images provided by theadministration web site 402, but the Resellers 400 a preferably providetheir own distinctive graphics. The graphics may have different colorsfor fonts and background and text for each Reseller 400 a. Web pages, asshown in FIG. 44, and FIG. 46 may be used by each Reseller 400 a toeasily select the desired features for their banner and footer imagerespectively.

In a preferred embodiment, a text link may be placed within the banner.A Customer 100 that selects the text link may be linked to another website or may be given an opportunity to email a message to the Reseller400 a that set up the banner. FIG. 45 shows an example of a web page inthe administration web site 402 that may be used to create the text linkand the text link's associated URL or email address.

Resellers 400 a may want to allow Customers 100 to view their companyand contact information and to give their Customers 100 a personalmessage or greeting. This information may be entered into a web page inthe administration web site 402 specifically created for this purpose,such as the example web page shown in FIG. 47. The company and contactinformation and personal message or greeting may then be displayed onone of the web pages in the registrar web site 403 for Customers 100 toview. The personal message and greeting allow Resellers 400 a to performmarketing activities, such as offer promotions, and further enhance theappearance of the registrar web site 403 being a part of the resellerweb site 400 b.

Any number and type of products and services may be sold by Resellers400 a using the registrar web site 403. Advantageously, services relatedto domain name registration may be sold. Resellers 400 a may wish toprovide their Customers 100 with options regarding the hosting ofregistered domain names. For example, Customers 100 may be given theoption to have the Registrar 101 a, Reseller 400 a or an ISP to host theregistered domain name. The Customers 100 may also be given the optionof selecting their hosting name servers. FIGS. 48 a and 48 b show a webpage in the administration web site 402 that may be used to allow aReseller 400 a to select how these options will be displayed forCustomers 100 on the registrar web site 403. If hosting services are tobe offered by a Reseller 400 a, a method for Customers 100 to selectdomain name servers may be provided. Resellers 400 a may desire toprovide their Customers 100 with a parking name server or the Resellers400 a may allow the Registrar 101 a to provide parking name servers tothe Customers 100. FIGS. 48 a and 48 b show an example web page at anadministration web site 402 that may be used to allow Resellers 400 a toselect the product and services, hosting name servers and parking nameservers that they wish to offer to their Customers 100 at the registrarweb site 403.

Resellers 400 a may desire to set their own prices for the variousproducts and services that they have selected to offer their Customers100. Example web pages on an administration web site 402 are illustratedin FIGS. 49 a, 49 b and 49 c and show one possible method for allowingResellers 400 a to set custom prices for their Customers 100. AllowingResellers 400 a to set their own prices greatly enhances each Reseller's400 a ability to create a unique marketing strategy and specificallytarget a portion of the market based on the level of service theReseller 400 a wishes to provide.

Resellers 400 a may desire to handle support requests themselves or theResellers 400 a may desire for the Registrar 101 a handles the supportrequests. If the Resellers 400 a desire to handle the support requests,they may need to provide contact information for their support serviceto the Registrar 101 a. In a preferred embodiment, each Reseller 400 amay select who will be handling the support requests from theirCustomers 100 for each product and service the Reseller 400 a has chosento sell. A web page, similar to the one shown in FIG. 50, may be used onthe administration web site 402 to allow the Resellers 400 a tocustomize their method of handling support issues.

Resellers 400 a may desire to see reports regarding the success of theirreseller business. The administration web site 402 may include a webpage, for example one similar to the web page shown in FIG. 51, forallowing the Resellers 400 a to view one or more reports. As examples ofpossible reseller reports, e.g. units sold report, domain nameregistration report, domain lookup report, account activity report,customer search report and pending transfer report may all be madeavailable to the Resellers 400 a. Corresponding sample web pages foreach of these reports are shown in FIGS. 52 through 57.

Resellers 400 a may desire to select the top level domains they wish tooffer their Customers 100 for registration. Typically top level domainsthat Resellers 400 a may wish to offer their Customers 100 include, butare not limited to, .COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO, .BIZ, .US, .WS. In apreferred embodiment, registration, transfer, bulk registration and bulktransfer capabilities may be selected for each top level domain.Resellers 400 a may also desire to offer any number of other productsand services. As examples, Resellers 400 a may desire to offer domainname change of ownership, domain name forwarding, domain name maskingfor forwarding, domain name hosting and email services, custom parkpages for domain names, private or proxy registration, wire transferpayments and account balances, notice when desired domain names becomeavailable, copyright registration services or website creation software.

Proxy registration services allow a proxy's name and contactinformation, e.g. the name and contact information for the Registrar 101a, to be stored in the public databases, while all the legal rights ofownership are contractually assigned to the Customer 100. The proxyregistration service greatly enhances the reseller program since theRegistrar 101 a may accept or assign to a third party the proxy positionthereby allowing the Resellers 400 a to sell this highly desired servicewithout having to worry about the complications of actually being theproxy or having to find a third party willing to accept the proxyposition.

The Registrar 101 a may desire to offer promotional products andservices through their Resellers 400 a and the Resellers 400 a maydesire to offer the promotional products and services to their Customers100. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a web page, for examplea web page similar to the one shown in FIG. 23, may be provided to allowResellers to select the promotional products and services they wouldlike to offer their Customers 100.

The described API reseller program is preferably transparent to theCustomer 100 who may never realize that they have visited the Registrarweb site 403 or that the reseller web site 400 b has transmitted theirinformation to the registrar web site 403. The Customers 100 preferablypays the Reseller 400 a and the Reseller 400 a may pay the Registrar 101for the products and services, e.g. domain name registration services,sold to the Customer 100. (Step 503)

In view of the foregoing, it will be understood by those skilled in theart that the systems and processes of the present invention canfacilitate the registration of domain names selected by Customers 100with an accredited Registry 102 a via an accredited Registrar 101 a. Theabove-described embodiments have been provided by way of example, andthe present invention is not limited to these examples. Multiplevariations and modification to the disclosed embodiments will occur, tothe extent not mutually exclusive, to those skilled in the art uponconsideration of the foregoing description. For example, while only asingle Customer 100, Reseller and Registry 102 a where displayed in thefigures, any number of Customers 100, Resellers and Registries 102 a mayactually be involved in either the turnkey or API reseller programs.Such variations and modifications, however, fall well within the scopeof the present invention as set forth in the following claims.

1. A method, comprising: A) hosting an administration web site on atleast one server computer communicatively coupled to a network, saidadministration web site providing a reseller with a selection of optionsfor generating a custom layout of a registrar's web site; B) receivingfrom said reseller, by at least one of said at least one servercomputer, at least one option selected from said selection of optionsfor generating said custom layout of said registrar's web site; C)receiving from a customer, by at least one of said at least one servercomputer, a request for said custom layout of said registrar's website;D) responsive to said request for said custom layout of said registrar'swebsite, transmitting to said customer, by at least one of said at leastone server computer, said custom layout of said registrar's web site; E)registering, via said custom layout of said registrar's web site, adomain name to said customer; F) identifying, by at least one of said atleast one server computer, said reseller; and G) compensating saidreseller, by at least one of said at least one server computer, for saiddomain name registered to said customer.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said receiving step C) comprises receiving a request for contentat a uniform resource locator uniquely associated with said reseller. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein said identifying step F) comprisesidentifying said reseller by said uniform resource locator.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said selection of options for generating saidcustom layout comprise a predetermined selection of colors, fonts,graphics, images, advertisements, or pricing information.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein said selection of options for generating said customlayout is configured to allow said reseller to provide a customselection of colors, fonts, graphics, images, advertisements, or pricinginformation.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said registrar's web siteis further configured to receive said domain name and a plurality ofregistration-related information from said customer, determine theavailability of said domain name, collect a fee from said customer,register said domain name with a registry, associate said customer withsaid reseller, and compensate said reseller.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising accepting said reseller into a reseller program viasaid administration web site.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein saidcustomer was guided to said custom layout of said registrar's web siteby an action of said reseller.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein saidaction of said reseller comprises placing advertisements or links on aweb site.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein said action of saidreseller comprises placing said uniform resource locator in an Internetsearch engine.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein said action of saidreseller comprises placing said registrar's web site or said customlayout for said registrar's web site in an Internet search engine. 12.The method of claim 1, wherein said administration web site is furtherconfigured to provide said reseller an option to receive thecompensation of step G) as an electronic payment.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said administration web site is further configured toprovide said reseller an option to register said domain name via a proxyservice, wherein a proxy contact information is made publicly available,while said customer receives legal rights in said domain name.
 14. Amethod, comprising: A) selecting, from an administration web siteaccessible via a computer communicatively coupled to a network, at leastone option from a selection of options for formatting a custom layout ofa registrar's web site providing domain name registration functionalityvia said registrar; B) transmitting to said registrar, via saidadministration web site, said at least one option for formatting saidcustom layout of said registrar's web site; C) publishing, to aplurality of customers via said network, a link to said custom layout ofsaid registrar's web site; and D) receiving compensation from saidregistrar for a domain name registered to at least one of said pluralityof customers via said custom layout of said registrar's web site. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein said publishing step C) comprisespublishing a uniform resource locator resolving to said custom layout ofsaid registrar's web site, said uniform resource locator being uniquelyassociated with a reseller.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein saidselection of options for formatting said custom layout comprise apredetermined selection of colors, fonts, graphics, images,advertisements, or pricing information.
 17. The method of claim 14,wherein said selection of options for formatting said custom layout isconfigured to receive a custom selection of colors, fonts, graphics,images, advertisements, or pricing information.
 18. The method of claim14, wherein said registrar's web site is further configured to receivesaid domain name and a plurality of registration-related informationfrom said customer, determine the availability of said domain name,collect a fee from said customer, register said domain name with aregistry, associate said customer with said reseller, and compensatesaid reseller.
 19. The method of claim 14, further comprising acceptingsaid reseller into a reseller program via said administration web site.20. The method of claim 14, wherein said step C) is accomplished bypublishing said uniform resource locator in an advertisement or a linkon a web site.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein said step C) isaccomplished by placing said uniform resource locator in an Internetsearch engine.
 22. The method of claim 14, wherein said step C) isaccomplished by placing said registrar's web site or said custom layoutfor said registrar's web site in an Internet search engine.
 23. Themethod of claim 14, wherein said administration web site is furtherconfigured to provide said reseller an option to receive thecompensation of step D) as an electronic payment.
 24. The method ofclaim 13, wherein said administration web site is further configured toprovide said reseller an option to register said domain name via a proxyservice, wherein a proxy contact information is made publicly available,while said customer receives legal rights in said domain name.
 25. Amethod, comprising: A) accepting a reseller into a reseller program; B)generating a reseller web site for said reseller, said reseller web sitebeing communicatively coupled via an applications programming interfaceto a registrar web site configured to register domain names with anappropriate registry; C) allowing said reseller web site to register oneor more domain names for one or more customers via said registrar website; and D) collecting a fee from said reseller web site when a domainname is registered for a customer via said registrar web site.